Ok, so I went to plan out the new 240 wiring for my hot tub and noticed code requires a seperate disconnect within 5 feet. Umm.. what if the main breaker box is within five feet.. then what?

Should I just use a 50AMP GFCI breaker in the main and not worry about a disconnect?

Thanks!

Rocky

Definitely use a GFCI, however the requirement isn't that the cut-off must be within 5 feet, but GREATER THAN or Equal to 5 feet, and within sight of the spa. If your main is inside of 5 feet, it's not really safe because some day some drunk yo yo that wants to be a hero plays with the box while they're in the thing wet and all... I'm not referring to you just covering all the possibilities.

Which is what the code tries to do.

Pageup is correct, you can not, by code, have any disconnecting means (or any electrical disconnect for anything else) within 5' of the closest INSIDE edge of the spa. Not even a simple outlet! IMHO it should be 10 feet, considering people can have things in their hands that is conductive, but that is just me...

Regarding the additional disconnect, yes, you must have it. Why? The NEC doesn't specifically state why, but those in the know will tell you that the reason is because the main panel is a source for other circuits, and you can't guarentee that "Jo Blow" will know which breaker to throw in case of emergency.

I always recommend that the GFI breaker is located in the main panel, feeding the disconnect. A GFI placed only in the disconnect will leave the LINE side of the disconnect unprotected by a GFI and could still pose a risk at the disconnect. The code doesn't require my recommendation, it's just common sense.

Interesting... That's what I plan on doing, but was actually concerned that having the GFI in the service panel instead of the shutoff box was somehow wrong. You always see the "spa shutoff" boxes with the GFI breaker built-in, so I always assumed that was the way to go.

Here's a blurb I read on another site that seemed to indicate having it closer to the equipment is better...


Is there a legitimate risk of the GFI tripping if it's too far away from the spa?

No.

And this is not a correct statement:
"circuits operate normally with slight variations in current, so the GFCI would constantly be breaking circuits for the wrong reason."

Along with the statement following it which is really full of crap.

A gfci doesn't trip because of current variation. it trips because of ground fault.

However, certain rf noise and other types of garbage electrons on the power lines can cause a some gfi's to falsely trip under ideal circumstances.

There's bazillions of gfci's mounted in main breaker boxes all over the country.

That said 1: it is easier to troubleshoot a ground fault related problem when the gfci is at the remote box.

That said 2: a gfci will last longer mounted in the house mains due to less exposure to the elements in an outside disconnect.

That said 3: as charger mentioned, if you accidentally cut into the spa power line with a mower or weed wacker, at least accidental shock risk is significantly reduced by having the gfci covering the line all the way to the spa/disconnect box.

Pageup, thanks for that explanation. This thread has cleared up some concerns for me and I feel a lot better about installing the GFI in my main load center. I'm working on resurrecting a late 1980s spa which has no GFI protection at all right now. Needless to say, nobody is getting near that thing until I get a GFI breaker installed!

Hmm.. it appears as thought this Control (1995 Hurricane Products) has a GFCI built-in to the box. I'm assuming another GFCI is still required yes?

Rocky

Don't ever trust built in GFCI's.

They are unreliable and when they fail, they usually fail with POWER ON. Not off.

Especially since that one's 11 years old.